UAE signals war footing against Iran as Gulf focus shifts beyond ceasefire

The UAE has signalled that it is moving beyond calls for a ceasefire and towards a more openly confrontational posture against Iran. Abu Dhabi’s comments are the first public indication by a Gulf state that the priority is no longer simply ending the fighting but reshaping the regional balance of power after US and Israeli led war on Tehran. 

UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed wrote on X that the Emirates would “never be blackmailed by terrorists”, while presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Abu Dhabi’s thinking “does not stop at a ceasefire” but instead centres on “sustainable security” in the Gulf.

We will never be blackmailed by terrorists https://t.co/gMSjGOII8V

— عبدالله بن زايد (@ABZayed) March 22, 2026

Gargash said the focus now was on curbing Iran’s nuclear programme, missiles, drones and its ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, adding that it was “inconceivable” to allow Tehran to maintain a permanent threat over the Gulf. 

Gargash also said the war was pushing Iran to the centre of Gulf strategic thinking and would lead to stronger national capabilities, closer Gulf coordination and more deeply rooted security ties with Washington. Reuters reported last week that the UAE was even considering joining a US-led effort to secure Hormuz after Iranian action disrupted shipping through the waterway in response to US and Israeli attack on the country. 

The US and Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic is considered by many as a war of aggression and a violation of international law.

READ: Trump pauses strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for 5 days after ‘productive’ talks

The language marks a notable shift in tone from Gulf capitals that have largely framed their response around de-escalation. Saudi Arabia, for example, has issued some of its toughest warnings yet to Tehran, but its foreign minister still said Riyadh preferred diplomacy even while reserving the right to respond militarily. 

Abu Dhabi’s remarks stand out as the clearest signal so far from a Gulf state that the war is being seen not only as a crisis to contain, but as an opportunity to weaken Iran’s long-term regional power. 

The UAE is one of Israel’s closest Arab partners since the 2020 Abraham Accords, which opened the way for expanding political, economic and security ties between the two states. The accords allowed the UAE and Israel to coordinate more closely against shared interest.

Critics say that wider Emirati policy has helped produce chaos rather than stability across the region. When the UAE joined the Abraham Accords, Abu Dhabi presented the move as a way to halt Israel’s planned annexation of the illegally occupied West Bank. 

The UAE portrayed the agreement as stopping annexation, and Anwar Gargash called it a step that had defused a “ticking time-bomb”. But critics argued from the outset that the accords sidelined the Palestinian question rather than resolving it, and later analyses have said the normalisation model failed precisely because it tried to bypass the Palestine issue.

Those criticisms have only intensified since 7th October 2023 and the wars that followed. Analysts have argued that the violence showed Arab-Israeli normalisation could not sustainably bypass the Palestinian issue. Israel has taken measures towards formal annexation. At the same time, Israeli settlers have intensified pogroms against Palestinians.

READ: Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in 13 locations across occupied West Bank